Climate-Concerned
Amherst Alumni
Press the Media for More Coverage of the Climate Crisis and Solutions
What's at stake is nothing less than the health of the planet and everything on it, but neither the media nor the public treat climate change as the defining political issue we believe it to be. We need media outlets to play a much stronger role in informing the public about the problems and the solutions.
Yet, as an article last fall in The Guardian put it, "the climate crisis remains a niche concern for most mainstream news outlets," adding, "In every newsroom in every community, climate crisis needs to be thought of not as a beat, but as a through-line involving everything we do," adding, "Election coverage should help audiences understand what the candidates will do about the climate crisis if elected, not just what they say."
Action we can take
Write, call, or meet with the media, encouraging them to do more, especially in reporting on climate solutions.
Members of our group will receive occasional emails with suggestions for letters or emails they might send to impress the importance of climate change coverage on specific publishers or editors.
Here is one sample message you can modify and direct to your own preferred local or national media outlet.
Dear (Editor/Publisher/Producer),
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Climate change, and what political candidates have done or say they will do about it, is critically important to me. And I am not alone. Many of my classmates from Amherst College have joined in a public call for faster, bolder action to reduce carbon emissions and address climate change.
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Your coverage on climate events and science has been (adequate/commendable). But as we think about how we will vote this fall, we want to know what local, state, and national candidates have done, the positions they've taken, and what they say they will do to reduce carbon emissions, decrease reliance on fossil fuels, and mitigate against climate disasters such as flooding and fires. There are stark differences between some of the candidates; how is that not a story to be covered at this time?
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Thanks you for your attention. I look forward to (reading/seeing/listening) to your coverage of all important issues in the fall elections, with climate change at the top, not the bottom, of the list.
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Warm regards,
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